There's No Way!
by KASAYYx14
Summary: Gabi goes to West High. Troy goes to East. What happens when they meet at a party and hit it off? What happens when the two schools find out. The West High Jocks won't stop torturing Gabi, while the people at East High vowel to split them up. TROYELLA.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL.**

Summary: Gabriella Montez in the nerd of West High. Troy Bolton is the Basketball Superstar at East High. What happens when they meet at a party, and start to fall for each other. Even more importantly, what happens when the two schools find out, and disapprove? Whatever it is, It won't be good for Gabriella.

Troy Bolton. East High's Golden Boy. He is the true definition of a basketball superstar, school bully, and overall manwhore. After all, he's dated practically every cheerleader at East High. Everyone within a 50 mile radius of East High knew Troy Bolton, and to be completely honest, they were scared of him. He wouldn't take shit from anyone.

Gabriella Montez. The biggest nerd at West High. If you ever needed help with your homework, she was the one to go to. Unfortunately for Gabriella, the jocks always made her life a living hell. Everyday at school she was either shoved into lockers, knocked to the floor, or horribly insulted.

**AT EAST HIGH.**

Troy Bolton was walking down the halls of East High, with his posse following close behind him.

"Yo Troy! Wait up dude!" Troy's best friend, Chad Danforth, screamed as he ran down the hall to catch up with him. "There's a party tonight at Jason's House, you in?" he asked, trying to catch his breath.

" Of course. After all, would it be a party without East High's Golden Boy?" Troy questioned as she flashed his million dollar smile to everyone standing in the hallway.

"Hell no!" Chad screamed.

" Danforth! Watch your language!" Ms Darbus, the schools drama teacher, screamed as she narrowed her eyes at the big-haired basketball boy.

"Sorry Ms. Darbus" Chad said as she turned his head and looked at Troy who was trying to hold back laughter. Chad gave Troy a mad look.

"Sorry dude, but you really gotta learn to talk quieter." Troy said in between laughs.

" Yeah Yeah whatever. So meet me there at 10, alright?" Chad said. Troy nodded and walked to his locker to grab his bags for after school basketball practice.

**AT WEST HIGH.**

Gabriella Montez was currently picking up her books that were recently knocked to the ground by a group of jocks.

"Gabi!" screamed a short, blonde haired girl who was running down the hall. She immediately knew it was her best friend, Ellie. " Gabi! There's a party tonight. Go with me?" Ellie said as she reached her friends.

Gabi stood up, now holding all her books in her hands. " I don't know El. Parties aren't my thing" She said with an uneasy look on her face.

" Come on Gabs! It's just my cousin Jason's!" Ellie said, practically begging her best friend to go.

"Jason?" Gabi questioned.

" Yeah he goes to East High. So will you!?" She asked, and this time, she WAS begging.

"EAST HIGH! If we go to a party with people from East High, they'll kill us!" Gabi screamed, giving her friend a how-could-you-not-know-that look.

"Come on. We just won't mention we go to West High!" Ellie said, trying to reason with her friend.

Gabriella looked at her friend for a second, who was now giving her the puppy-dog look. " UGH FINE!" she yelled, finally giving in!

"Thank you so much Gabs!" Ellie said while giving her best friend a hug. " I'll pick you up at 9:45!" She yelled as she ran down the hall. Gabi went to her locker, got her things, and went home.

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Troy was in his bedroom, looking for something to wear to the party tonight. He decided to go with a pair of faded jeans and a dark blue polo shirt. He walked over to the mirror and looked at himself.

" Eh good enough. Some hot chick will more then likely be ripping off my clothes tonight anyhow." He said to no one in particular. He finished getting ready, and walked downstairs to watch tv until it was time to leave.

In the meantime, Gabriella was in her room, trying to figure out what to wear. She'd been trying to get ready for the past hour, and tried on at lease 9 different outfits, but she couldn't find anything. She ended up wearing a white top with gemstones under the bust, a pair of faded skinny jeans, and a black beaded necklace. ( picture in profile) She wore her hair down, letting her loose curls hand over her shoulders. She applied a little make-up, and by the time she was done, it was 9:45, and Ellie was at her door.

Gabi and Ellie ended up getting at the party at 10:05. They walked in the house and noticed it was already started. Music was blaring, people were dancing, and couples were making out everywhere. As soon as Gabi got in the house, she noticed a tall boy with amazing blue eyes. She looked at him for a second, but her friend brought her out of her thoughts.

"Gabs why don't you go meet some people! Cody's over there!" Ellie said as she fixed her hair.

" Ellie…who's Cody?" Gabriella questioned.

" Um…well you see… I met him the other day…and um-" Ellie started to explain buy Gabriella cut her off.

" YOU ASKED ME TO THIS PARTY SO YOU COULD MEET UP WITH SOME HOT GUY?!" She screamed, getting attention from a few people.

" Well…sorta" Ellie said in a small voice. " Please Gabs. I really like him!" She said.

" Fine. Go" she said flatly as her best friend hugged her and ran off.

She decided to go to the punch bowl and get a drink. Since she hasn't been to many parties, she didn't know that people spike the punch. After 6 glasses, she started feeling a little dizzy. She decided to go outside to get some air, and maybe sit down.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Troy was sitting out on a bench on the porch of Jason's House all alone. He decided to go outside and get away from the party after 7 girls had tried getting all over him, all of which were pretty ugly-and drunk.

Troy himself wasn't much of a drinker. The last time he got drunk, his dad found out and grounded him from basketball for a month, which practically killed him. After that, he learned his lesson.

Troy was sitting on the porch, just thinking about random things when he saw a beautiful brown haired girl walk out of the front door. She wasn't walking in a straight line, which led him to believe she was drunk.

As she was walking down the steps to get off the porch, she tripped and went tumbling down. Then, he knew she was drunk.

" Oh that had to hurt" he said to himself as he got off of the bench he was sitting on and ran over to her.

He kneeled down beside her and said "Um, are you alright?" All he could get as a response from her was "UGH."

He shook her gently and said " Um, I can't understand you"

" Ouch" she groaned as she laid on the hard cement sidewalk. This time he understood her.

" Here, let me help you up" He said as he put one arm around her and hoisted her off the ground. Once she had both her feet on the ground, he let go. That was probably not a good idea, considering the fact she got pretty dizzy and started to fall over. Luckily, Troy caught her in his arms before she could fall.

" Woah There!" He said as she held her. " Come sit down" He said as he led her to the bunch with one arm around her waist.

" Too much to drink?" He questioned.

She nodded and said " I didn't know the punch was spiked. I don't come to parties much" After a few minutes of silence she stuck out her hand and said " I'm Gabriella by the way" He gladly took her hand and said " Troy"

" So why haven't I seen you around the halls" He asked.

"Um." was all she could say.

She mentally slapped herself, wondering why she said that.

" Um….well…"

" Gabriella! W-Where do you go to school?" He asked.

" West High" she said in a small voice. She looked up and his face was pale.

**A/N: So this is my first High School Musical fanfic. Leave me a review if you like it, and tell me if I should continue writing it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL**.

"Y-You're from W-West High?" He said, with very wide eyes. He looked over to see Gabriella staring at the ground trying to figure out what to say,

"Yes." she answered simply.

"I can't believe you're from West High! I can't even believe I'm talking to someone from West High!" He screamed, loud enough for everyone around them to hear.

" Troy can you keep it down! I'd really like to not get killed tonight." She said, while putting her hand over his mouth. After he nodded, she took her hand away, and let him talk.

" Sorry. It's just that I'm from East High and you're from West, and you know how big of rivals we are!" he explained.

" Yeah but I don't really get that. Who cares if you wanna be friends with someone from another school…you can't help who you like." She said, not knowing what his reaction was going to be.

" You're not a jock, are you?" He said with a small laugh.

" Far from it." she said, joining in with a small chuckle. " I take it you are?" she questioned.

He turned his head, not sure if he should tell her. After all, if she knew who he was, she may freak out.

"Um…I guess you could say I play some basketball." He said simply, not trying to sound like an egotistical maniac.

" Oh that's co-" she started to say before she interrupted herself. " Wait a second. Troy as in….Troy Bolton?" she asked.

"Yes?" It came out as more of a question then a statement.

"Holy Shit" she mumbled to herself. " If the jocks from my school find out I talked to you…they'll kill me!" she frantically said as she got up and started to leave.

"Wait Brie!" He said as he gently grabbed her wrist, spinning her around to face him. He was amazed when he actually saw fear in her eyes. " We don't have to let them find out!" he continued.

"You don't understand Troy. I'm a nerd at my school. The jocks make my life a living hell enough as it is…if they find out I'm talking to the captain of the East High Basketball Team, they'll kill me!" she explained.

"_You're_ a_ nerd_?" He said, emphasizing the words you're and nerd. She just nodded in reply. " What do they do to you?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

" The usual. knock my books to the ground, insult me, slam me against the lockers…you know, all the stuff you probably do to the nerds at your school." she said, staring at the ground, not wanting to make any eye contact with him. He opened his mouth to protest, but he realized she was right- he did do all that stuff.

"Oh. I'm sorry Brie" was all he could say. He saw how hurt she looked, and seeing her like that made him realize how the other nerds at his school must have felt.

" It's okay." she said. " and where did Brie come from?" she asked with a slight chuckle.

Troy shrugged and replied " I don't know…I can stop calling you it if you want" he sadly said.

"No!" she replied quickly. " I like it" She added. As soon as she said that, she saw Troy's face light up.

" Well I better get going. My mom expects me home before 1 and it takes about 20 minutes to walk to my house. She'll freak out if I'm even 5 minutes late" She said as she started to walk off.

"Brie!" Troy shot up and walked after her. " I can give you a ride home. That way we can…you know… get to know each other more."

" Oh no that's okay. You stay here and have fun." She replied.

"I don't mind. This party is a drag anyways. Plus, it's not safe for you to be walking home alone and night." He said with a caring tone in his voice. This made Gabriella blush. She nodded her head signaling that he could drive her home.

The drive to her house only took about 5 minutes, so they decided to go the long way.

" What's your favorite color?" She asked after a minute of silence.

"What?" Troy asked, not taking his eyes off the road.

" Well you said you wanted to get to know each other more…so what's your favorite color?" she said.

" Orange. Since Basketball are orange." He said. At first Gabi thought he was just kidding, but he was completely serious.

She laughed and said " I should have seen that coming"

" Hey! Orange is a great color!" he protested as he looked at her. She just shook her head at him. " Well then what's your favorite color?!" he asked.

"Yellow" she simply replied.

After 10 minutes of driving around the block, they finally arrived at Gabi's House. She was getting ready to get out of the car when Troy stopped her.

" Hey Brie?" He asked, sounding pretty unsure of himself. " Put your number in my phone?" He questioned. Instead of replying, she grabbed his phone out of his hands and put her number in. Then she gave him her phone, and he did the same.

" You better call me, basketball boy" she said while giggling. Then she got out of the car, shut the door, and walked into her house. Troy sat in his car, with a smile plastered to his face.

As soon as Gabriella got into her house, she started dancing and singing to herself. She couldn't believe THE Troy Bolton asked her for her number. After 2 minutes of continuous dancing, she stopped when she remembered…He was from East High.

" SHIT" she mumbled to herself. " I meet one guy who likes me for me, and he's from East High. Just great" she said, continuing to mumble to herself.

_Well, I guess it can't hurt to talk to him on the phone_. She thought to herself.

She went upstairs, changes into her pajamas, and went to bed, with Troy Bolton on her mind.

**A/N: Sorry. This is pretty uneventful. I just had to throw this in there to set everything up.** Please Review!


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL.**

Troy woke up the next day at 10, considering the fact it was Saturday. He went over to his dresser, and put on a pair of red basketball shorts and a plain white shirt. He ran downstairs, grabbed some breakfast, and decided to go out for a run.

At Gabi's House.

Gabi was walking down the stairs today when she heard her mom and step-dad fighting, which really wasn't unusual. Her step-dad Richard was the biggest bastard ever, and always made a big deal out of every little thing, especially when he was drunk.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU LAST NIGHT?!" she heard her step-dad scream at her mother.

" I-I had to work late. One of my co-workers called in sick, and they had no one else to stay!" Her mother said to Richard, who had now cornered her.

" THAT'S NO EXCUSE!" He yelled as he slapped her across the face.

Now, Richard occasionally got mad enough to hit Maria (Gabi's mom), and sometimes, he would even hit Gabi. When Gabi saw this, she did the only thing she could think of. She ran up to her room, climbed down her balcony, and ran the park where she always went to think.

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Troy was running down the path in the park when he heard crying nearby. He slowed down, and decided to follow the crying until he found out where it was coming from. As he kept walking, he spotted a beautiful girl with dark brown hair, sitting under the slid crying her eyes out. It took him a minute, but he realized who it was.

" Brie?" Troy questioned as he walked over to where she was sitting. " Brie what's wrong?"

Gabriella looked up, and saw those piercing blue eyes she loved so much. " Troy? What are you doing here?" she asked, with a sad voice.

He walked over and sat down next to her. He put his hand lovingly on her thigh. " I went out running. I always do Saturday morning…but what's wrong?"

She noticed how caring he was, and that made her smile. " It's nothing" she simply answered, although tears still fell from her eyes.

" Brie…if you're crying then it's obviously something." He said.

She realized how much he cared, and she knew she could trust me. " Well, my step-dad…" she started, but then started crying again. Troy put his arm around her shoulder, and shook his head, signaling her to continue.

"…he h-hit my mom again today, so I-I ran" she said.

Troy felt his heart sink. Even though they just met, he hated seeing her upset like that. He engulfed her in a hug and said " don't worry Brie."

After 20 minutes of sitting in the park, with Troy just holding Gabriella, she finally broke the silence.

"I'm sorry I made you listen to this" she simply said, looking him straight in the eye.

"No! I don't mind listening to you at all. I'm happy you can talk to me." He said with a smile across his face.

" Well I know this may sound crazy, but I trust you." She said, and this made his smile even bigger.

"Well, I'm glad you trust me, because I trust you too." he said. "..but brie, does he ever…you know.. hit you?" he asked.

She sat there for a moment, not sure of what to say. She's never told anyone that he hits her, but then again, no one ever asked. Now she's sitting here with a guy she met less then a day ago, pouring her heart and soul out to him.

"yes" she said so quietly that her voice was barely above a whisper. " but only when he gets really mad or drunk" she quickly added.

At that moment, Troy Bolton has never been so mad. He just wondered how someone could hurt someone as sweet and innocent as Gabriella.

" Brie, that's no excuse" he said quietly, pulling her back into a hug. " he should never hit you…or your mom" he continued.

She looked at his concerned eyes, and began to cry again. " I know…but my mom just won't leave him" she said, holding on to him tightly.

" It's okay Brie" He reassuringly said. " hey, how about I take you out tonight…you know, so you could get out of the house for a while. We can go to the movies or out to eat or something" Troy asked.

" I don't know Troy. I'm a knight and you're a wildcat. If we get caught together, who knows what will happen" She said, her voice still stuffy from crying.

Troy knew nothing would happen to him if anyone found out. After all, he was the basketball captain. If anyone had a problem with it, they wouldn't have to nerve to confront him about it. But, he was worried about her. He knew she wasn't all that popular, and the jocks would probably kill her if they found out, and he didn't want to risk her getting hurt.

" Okay, then we won't go out. How about you come over to my house, and we can watch a couple movies?" he asked, trying to reason with her. He wanted to hang out with her more then anyone could ever imagine.

Gabriella smiled. She wanted to hang out with him…a lot. " Yeah, that would be nice" She said.

He stood up from where they were sitting, and extended his hand to her to help her up. " Great!" he said a little too enthusiastically. " Come at 7...I'll call you with my address and directions when I get home" he said, checking his watch. " I better get going. My mom's gonna think someone killed me if I don't get home soon" He said as he began to run off.

"See you tonight!" she called after him. She turned around and whispered " Troy.." to herself.

**A/N: So, I had to through some fluff in there. This chapter was short, I know. The next chapter will pretty much be all about the movie night. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL**

"Hey mom!" Troy said as he ran through the front door and into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. " I invited a friend over tonight to watch some movies, is that cool?" He asked while he sat down next to her.

"Sure sweetheart. Your father and I are going out to dinner with the Robinsons anyway" his mom said.

"Thanks mom!" Troy exclaimed as he hugged his mom.

**AT GABI'S HOUSE**

Gabriella arrived home to find Richard gone. Even though she knew he was only at work, it was better then him being there.

"Hi mom" she said as she walked over to her.

"Where were you?" her mom said as she tightly hugged her. " I was worried sick"

"Sorry mom. I was at the park" She said as she started walking up the steps "Oh and a friend invited me over tonight to watch some movies….is that okay? She questioned.

"Sure honey. Be home by 12" She said.

"Thanks!" she said. She ran up the remaining stairs and into her room. It was now 1. Gabriella knew she had a while before she had to leave, so she laid down in her bed and turned on her iPod. Before she knew it, she was being awakened by her cell phone. She looked at the caller ID and saw it was Troy.

Troy/ **Gabi**

"**Hello?**" Gabi's voice was still raspy considering the fact she just woke up.

"Hey Gabi, It's Troy. You okay?"

"**Yeah. I just woke up**."

"Oh ok." he said while chuckling. "Anyways do you still need directions to my house?"

"**Yeah**"

"Ok do you know where McBeth's Gas Station is?"

"**Yep**"

"Okay, well from there you take a left and I live about 6 Blocks down on Willow Street"

"** Okay, I think I can manage to find that**."

"Great! See you soon!"

"**Bye**"

Gabriella hung up and looked at the clock. It read 4:30. She figured she should start to get read, because she wanted to look great for Troy. She went over to her closet and tried to find the perfect outfit. She didn't want to get too dressed up, because she didn't want to make it look like she was trying too hard.

She decided to wear a long sleeved grey shirt with multi-colored hearts, a pair of flare jeans, and a pair of cream flats with a buckle going across the top. Once she was satisfied with her outfit, she went into the bathroom and did her hair. She decided to leave it down, and add a simple grey headband. Then she applied a little lip-gloss, and some very light eye shadow. By the time she was done getting ready, it was 6:25. Since she had to be at Troy's at 7, she went downstairs to ask her mom for a ride. The only problem was, her mom wasn't home. She walked into the kitchen and saw a note.

Gabs,

I had to drive up to Allentown to visit your aunt. She needed someone to babysit for her tonight, and she had no one else to do it. I'll be home tomorrow around 1.

Love, mom.

"Great" Gabriella mumbled to herself. Since she didn't have a ride, she decided she would walk. She figured it would only take about 25 minutes to get to Troy's house anyways. She was walking down the street when she heard thunder. After 2 minutes, it started to pour.

"Well this is just wonderful. You spend forever getting your hair just right, and it pours!" she said to herself. She continued to walk until she got to a 2 story brick house. It wasn't huge, but it defiantly wasn't small. She walked up the path until she reached the front door. She slowly lifted up her hand and knocked on the door. The door opened, revealing Troy wearing a pair on blue jeans and a red polo shirt.

"Brie! You're soaked!" he exclaimed as he looked at her.

"Really? Gee, I didn't notice" she said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"What happened?" He asked leading her out of the rain and into the house.

"My mom had to visit my aunt and I didn't have a ride, so I walked here and it started to rain." She explained while she walked into the house, shivering from the cold rain.

"You could have called me! I would have picked you up!" he said. " Look at you, you're freezing" he continued as he noticed she was practically shaking.

"Well I didn't think of calling you" she simply said.

"Wait right here" Troy said as he ran up the stairs. A minute later he came down holding a pair of red sweatpants, a tee-shirt, and a red hoodie. "Here, put these on"

"Oh, I couldn't" she replied.

" Ok first of all, you're freezing, and second of all I don't think my mom will be too happy to come home and see her house soaked" he said with a chuckle.

Gabi smiled and said " Okay, thanks"

Troy showed her where the bathroom was, and she went in to change. She came out a few minutes later wearing a red pair of sweatpants that said East High Wildcats down the leg, and a red hoodie that had East High on the front, and a basketball on the back with the number 14 in it. Above the basketball, the name Bolton was written across it.

"Troy, this is your varsity hoodie, I can't wear this" She said as she began to take it off. To her surprise, he stopped her.

" No Brie, I want you to." He said, with a grin across his face.

"Thanks" she shyly said. "So what are we watching?" she asked.

"Well I was thinking we could watch something scary. I mean it's storming outside, it's dark out, so it's pretty much the perfect night to watch one" he said.

"O-Okay" she said, putting on a fake smile. The truth was, she's hated horror movies ever since she was little. And yes, a lot of people say they don't like horror movies, but Gabi was basically terrified. Half the time she gets so scared she starts to cry and shake. She doesn't mean to, but it just happens.

"Great!" He said as he went over to the DVD stand, and started looking through the movies. " How about The Ring?" He asked, obviously missing the fear in her eyes.

"S-Sure, sounds great" she said. She didn't want to tell him she was terrified of horror movies. It would make her look like a wimp, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Gabriella sat down on the couch, as Troy put the movie in the DVD player.

"Do you mind if I sit next to you, or do you want me to sit on the chair?" he asked.

Gabriella chuckled and said "Of course I don't mind"

Troy sat down next to her, and noticed she still looked a little cold.

" Do you want a blanket?" he asked her. She nodded and said "sure"

He walked over, picked up a light blue blanket, and put it over her. He sat down on the couch next to her and watched the previews.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked him.

" A little, but I'll live." he said.

"Here" she said as he moved over towards him and put part of the blanket over him. He smiled at her and they both focused on the tv again.

The first 30 minutes of the movie wasn't too bad, but after that Gabriella was completely terrified. An hour into the movie, she was so scared she could barely move. She was holding onto the blanket with eyes completely shut. She wanted hold onto Troy's arm, but she wouldn't. She really didn't want him to know she was scared. After an hour and a half, there were tears rolling down her face. The Ring was by far the scariest movie she's ever seen.

Troy looked over at Gabriella and saw her clutching on to the blanket with tears in her eyes

"Gabriella? Gabi what's wrong?" he asked as he inched closer to her. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern all through his voice.

"I-Im fine." she said as she looked away. She didn't want him to see her crying again. She's only know the guy for like a day, and this would be the second time he's seen her crying.

"Brie. What's wrong? D-Did I do something?" He asked. He didn't know what he could of possibly done to make her upset.

"No, No it's nothing you did!" She said, trying to reassure him. "It's just…I h-hate horror movies…a lot. I've been terrified of them since I was little. Everytime I watch them I f-freak out." she said, sounding ashamed of herself.

"Boy I'm an idiot." Troy said to himself as he hugged her. "Why didn't you tell me Brie? We could have watched something else" he said, with sincerity in his voice.

" I didn't want you to think I was wimp" she answered, in a small voice.

Troy let out a small laugh and said " Brie, I wouldn't think you were a wimp. I know tons of people who are scared of horror movies. I just feel bad that I made you cry" He said

"It's not your fault. I should have told you. I feel like an idiot that you've already seen me cry twice and I've only known you for about a day."

Troy just shook his head no and replied "Don't feel like an idiot. Hey, you wanna go out and get some ice cream? We could go through the drive through so no one would see us" He asked.

"Yeah. Yeah I'd really like that" She said.

Troy and Gabriella got off of the couch, walked outside, and got into the car. The drove to the nearest ice cream place and went trough the drive-thru. Gabi ordered a small vanilla ice cream cone, and Troy ordered a medium ice cream sundae. Gabi reached in her purse and started to pull out her wallet efore getting stopped by Troy.

"It's my treat" he said with a smile across his face.

"No I'll pay. You've done so much for me already." she said, continuing to pull out her wallet.

"Brie. You're not paying." he simply said as he pulled out a 5 dollar bill and handed it to the lady in the window. Gabriella blushed slightly as smiled at Troy. "Thanks"

They ate their ice cream and drove back to Troy's house. By now it was 10:15.

"What time do you have to be home?" Troy questioned her as they walked through the front door.

"My mom said 12, but she's visiting my aunt in Allentown and she won't be back until tomorrow. Richard will be home but he'll be too drunk to notice if I'm there or not" Gabriella simply stated. Troy was amazed that she seemed so used to it. Going home to an abusive drunk step dad was like eating to her. She did it everyday, and it was nothing unusual.

" So it'll just be you and Richard?" Troy questioned. Gabi nodded.

"Well how about you stay here tonight. I mean, I really don't think you should go home if you're gonna be alone with him" Troy said with concern etched across his face.

Gabi looked at him and smiled.

"You know Troy…I've only known you for a day, and you're nicer to me then people I've known my whole life. The people at school…they just judge me because I'm smart. No one there took the time to know the real me. The only thing they care about is shoving me into lockers, pushing me to the ground, knocking over my books, you know, stuff like that. I just wish there were more people like you at my school. Even though you're a jock, you still see me for me, not as a nerd or geek." She said.

He smile and took her hands in his.

"Gabs, they're stupid for not getting to know the real you. Because to me, you're pretty damn amazing" he replied.

"Thanks" she said. It seemed like she's been saying that a lot today. " I better get going." she whispered.

"Gabi. There's two things wrong with that. One…Do you actually think that I would let you walk home in the dark by yourself? And two…I thought you were staying here tonight?" said as he stopped her from walking out of the door.

"I can't. Like I said, you've done so much for me already. I couldn't impose." she said.

"Brie, I've done nothing for you!" he said, trying to reason with her.

"Oh yeah? You helped me up after I fell down the steps at the party, you drove me home, you helped me out in the park, you invited me over, you let me borrow your clothes, and you bought me ice cream." she said.

"Well the only reason you had to borrow my clothes is because I didn't even think you may need a ride, and I made you walk here in the rain." He said, mocking her tone. " Not to mention, I scared you to death by making you watch a horror movie, so if you ask me, I should make it up to you by letting you stay here tonight. Besides it's not imposing if I invited you." he continued.

She looked down in defeat and whispered " Okay,"

"Great!" he said. "Maybe you should call your mom and tell her you're staying over at your friend Allie's house" he said.

"It's Ellie" she said. " And yeah, that may be a good idea." she said with a small smile on her face.

Gabi went into the kitchen and called her mom. She said Ellie invited her to stay over, and she'd be home around noon tomorrow. Her mom said that was perfectly fine.

She walked back into the living room to find Troy watching a basketball game on tv.

" I can stay" she said as she sat next to him.

" Awesome!" he said " So what do you wanna do?" he asked.

"Well, how about we go outside and play some basketball? I noticed you had a court out back" she said.

His eyes widened and he said "You're actually challenging me….Troy Bolton… to a basketball game?" he asked.

"Mhm. And watch out there, don't want your ego to get too big" she said with a smirk on her face.

"Your on!" he said

They walked out onto the court and Troy gabbed a basketball. He threw it to Gabi and said " Ladies first. First to 20 works."

She took the ball, ran right past him, and got it right through the basket while Troy stood there in amazement. Not only was she pretty, she was good at basketball!

"You just…and you...but...how?" He couldn't even manage to get out a full sentence.

" Come on basketball boy! Is that all you got?" she said with a look that screamed bring-it-on!

"Oh I was gonna take it easy on you, but now it's so on!" He said.

20 minutes into the game the score was Troy 19 and Gabriella 18. They were both tired and out of breath, but neither one was going to give up. Toy had the ball and was getting ready to shoot while Gabi was trying to block him. Troy pushed past her causing her to fall to the ground. She clutched her ankle and screamed "shit." Troy's face looked horror stricken.

"Gabriella!" he said as he ran over to her a kneeled down beside her. "Oh my God Brie I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to push you that hard I'm just used to playing with the guys on the team and- I'm so sorry" he frantically explained. He helped her up and said " Here, let me carry you"

He was getting ready to pick her up when she ran down the court, picked up the ball, and make a perfect shot, causing her to win the game.

"I can't believe you actually fell for that! She said in between laughs.

"GABRIELLA! You scared me! I thought I hurt you!" he said with a serious voice.

"Well you didn't. But that was really nice that you were going to carry me" she said

After she said that, Troy got a smirk on his face. He started walking over to her, and before she knew it, he picked her up bridal style and started carrying her into the house.

"TROY! Put me down!" she screamed as he put her down on the couch in the living room.

"You're down" he said as he sat next to her. " I'm gonna take a shower. Do you wanna get one?" He asked. Then his eyes widened. " I-I mean after me…or before.." he said, once again trying to explain.

"Troy…I get it." she said as she laughed. "You go take one, I'll get one after you" she said.

After they both got showers, then were downstairs watching yet another movie. This time, It was Bruce Almighty. At around 1 O'clock, Gabi fell asleep. Troy got a blanket and put it over her. Then he kissed her forehead, turned off the tv, and went up to his room to go to sleep.

**A/N: So there's another chapter. I know nothing really happened, but it'll get more dramatic in the next few chapters. People will be finding out about them soon. Please read and review (:**


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL!**

After only about an hour of sleep, Troy was awakened by the sound of someone screaming. He immediately knew it was Gabriella. He jumped out of his bed, grabbed a baseball bat out of his closet, and ran down the steps as fast as he could.

"Gabriella?! What's wrong?" He frantically asked as he swung the bat around. "Oh boy" he said when he saw his parents standing next to the couch. His dad was wide-eyed, his mom was in shock, and Gabriella was trying not to laugh at him.

After all, he was standing in nothing but his boxers, swinging around a baseball bat, and looking frantic.

"Um mom…dad…did you have a nice time tonight?" Troy asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yes we did. Troy, can we speak to you in the kitchen for a moment?" His mom asked. Troy nodded and followed his parents into the kitchen.

"Troy, sweetie, would you like to tell me why there's a girl sleeping on my couch!" his mother whispered-screamed. Troy looked over at his dad, who was still wide-eyed.

"A-And she's wearing your v-var-varsity hoodie!" His dad said. Troy couldn't help but laugh at how his dad was more shocked about that.

"Well yeah. I told you I was having a friend come over. She ended up having to walk here in the rain, so I gave her my hoodie because her clothes were wet. Her mom's visiting her aunt somewhere, and I didn't want her to stay home alone with her step-dad so I asked her to stay here." Troy said, trying to explain to his parents.

"Well why didn't you want her to be alone with her step-dad?" his mom asked.

Troy wasn't sure if he should tell his parents or not. He figured it would be best to not say anything for now.

"They just don't get along." he simply said.

"Well why your varsity hoodie?! I mean, you have tons of hoodies!" his dad said.

"Because, I wanted her to wear my varsity one. Plus it's no big deal, it's just a hoodie" Troy said.

His dad looked like he was about to drop dead. His jaw dropped and his eyes went even wider.

"..look" Troy continued "It's not like we were doing anything. Just please let it go. She's really a nice girl"

His mom and dad looked at each other, and nodded. Troy said thanks and walked back into the living room, where Gabriella getting her stuff together, getting ready to leave.

"Brie where are you going?" Troy asked as he walked over to her.

"I'm gonna walk home. Here's your hoodie and sweatpants" she said, handing him clothes. She now had on her clothes, which were still damp, but that didn't really matter considering the fact it was still raining outside.

She went to open the door when he grabbed her hand and spun her around.

"I don't think so" Troy said. "There's no way you're leaving now. It's like 2 am."

"Troy, I'm sure your parents don't want me to stay here" she said, as she tried to open the door once again.

This time, Troy picked her up and carried her over to the couch again.

"Look Gabi. You're not walking home now. My parents said it would be okay for you to stay over tonight. Now go into the bathroom, put these clothes back on, and go back to sleep." Troy said, with a grin on his face.

She looked down and said "ok"

**THE NEXT MORNING.**

Gabriella woke up to find Troy already up, sitting on the chair next to her watching tv.

"Morning sleepyhead" he said.

"Hi" she said in a soft voice. "What time is it?" she questioned.

"About 10" he said.

"Well I better get going before my mom gets home. Plus I have some homework I still have to do." she said. He nodded. She went into the bathroom to change into her clothes, which were now dry.

She handed Troy his clothes back. "Thanks for everything" she said.

"No problem. And Brie…why don't you take my hoodie. You can give back next time I see you or something" He said.

"Sure. I'd like that" She said as she put her head down so he wouldn't see her blush. She put the hoodie into her big purse, and walked out the door, smiling all the way home.

**AT SCHOOL ON MONDAY (I'm going to skip to school so I don't bored you guys to death)**

**AT EAST HIGH.**

Troy was walking down the hall with his team as usual. Only this time, he couldn't help but think about Gabriella. He missed her, even though it's only been one day since he's seen her.

"Hey Captain!" Chad said as he walked up to Troy. "Where'd you go on Friday? I was looking for you during the party and I couldn't find you anywhere" He said.

"Um…I went home early. I had a headache" Troy said, somewhat proud of his lie

"Really. Cause some people said they saw you leaving with a hot chick in your car" Chad said with a huge grin on his face. "Let me guess…you got lucky?" he continued.

"No. She had too much to drink and fell down the steps. I helped her up and took her home. No big deal." he stated as he shut his locker and started walking to his class.

"Well who was she?" Chad questioned.

Troy knew he couldn't tell Chad. At least not yet.

"Um..I don't even know. I didn't even ask her what her name was." Troy said, knowing it was a bad lie. But since Chad was so dumb, he fell for it.

"Probably some little tramp hoping to get some." Chad said. "After all, you are Troy Bolton"

At that moment, Troy wanted to punch Chad in the face for saying that.

"Whatever" Troy simply replied, and walked into his class.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**AT WEST HIGH.**

Gabriella walked through the doors of West High with Troy on her mind. It took all her will power not to wear his hoodie to school. When she had it on, it made her feel safe, protected, like no one could ever hurt her, but she knew she couldn't wear it. It would only lead to more problems.

She walked up to her locker, and got out the books she needed when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Ellie.

"Hey Ellie" Gabriella said.

"Hey. So what did you think of that party on Friday? Pretty awesome, huh?" Ellie questioned. Gabriella shrugged and said

"I guess it was alright"

Gabriella was actually glad she had gone to the party. If she didn't, she wouldn't have met Troy.

"Just alright?! Come on Gabs, I know you had a great time!" Ellie said. "And I have one more little favor. Cody asked me to another party next Saturday. Go with me?" she continued.

Usually, Gabriella would have said no. That party would be full of people from East High, and sooner or later someone was going to find out that she was a knight. But, Troy may be there.

"Sure. You owe me big time." she said with a half serious half kidding voice.

"I know. I just really really like him. He's so sweet and caring" Ellie said with a dreamy voice.

"Well that's great El. I'm happy for you" she said, giving her best friend a hug.

"Thanks. Well I have to get to PE. Bye Gabs" Ellie said as she walked off down the hall.

Gabi shut her locker and started walking down the hall when Steve Allen, the football captain and most popular person in school walked up to her. Clinging onto Steve's arm was his girlfriend, Amy. She was the most popular guys, and head cheerleader.

"Well look who it is. Shouldn't you be somewhere doing homework?" Steve asked, while he inched closer to her.

Gabriella was terrified of Steve and Amy, but she didn't want to let it show. That would just make them feel like they had more power.

"Shouldn't you be somewhere screwing a cheerleader?" she snapped back at him. Steve instantly slammed her into the locker. She gasped as the metal lock dug into her back.

"You listen to me Montez. No one talks to me like that, especially a worthless nerd like you." he said, pushing her into the locker even harder.

By this point, tears where threatening to fall. Not only was her back throbbing, but she was scared. No, she was more then scared. She was terrified.

"Let go of me Allen's" she said firmly. She wasn't going to let her fear show.

He let out a dry chuckle, and slapped her across the face. Then he slowly turned around and just walked away. Gabriella slid down the lockers, and started crying. Sure she was bullied a lot, but it still hurt.

After crying for 5 or 10 minutes, Gabi recollected herself. She got up, and went to her next class.

The rest of the day went by quickly for Gabriella. When she got home, she did her homework, listened to some music, and took a shower. She decided to call Troy.

**Troy **/ Gabriella

**"Hello?"** A voice answered, sounding a bit out of breath.

"Hey T-Troy? It's Gabriella"

**"Oh hey!"** he said, his voice perking up a bit. **"How are you?"**

"Um, Okay. How about you?"

"**I'm good. What's wrong, you sound a little upset?"** Troy questioned.

"It's nothing, really. Just school, you know?" she said.

**"Oh"** he replied.

They talked for about another hour, then Troy had to go practice basketball with his dad. After she hung up, Gabriella remembered she forgot to ask him if he was going to the party, and mentally cursed herself.

_Oh well, now it'll be more of a surprise_. She thought to herself.

**A/N: Ok, so boring chapter, I know. And I'm no happy with it at all. And don't worry, this whole story is not gonna be all about parties. This is probably going to be the last party in the story, at least for a while. Also, do you guys want me to go straight to the day of the party, or do you want be to have one more chapter about school? Please Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN HSM.**

**And High School Musical 2 was seriously amazing! And I'm skipping to the day of the party so you don't get bored.**

* * *

Gabriella was standing in front of her mirror, once again trying to figure out what to wear. She seems to run into this problem a lot. She has a lot of clothes, but she's never satisfied with outfit. For the party, she wanted to look hot, but she didn't want to look like a slut. She decided to wear a bright blue knit dress that came a little above her knees and long black heart necklace with a bow above it. She added a pair of black pumps to complete the outfit. She decided to put her hair into a side ponytail, letting a few of her curls hang over the side of her face. 

She went downstairs, grabbed a black purse, and waited for Ellie to pick her up. She heard a car pull in her drive way and then heard Ellie honk. She ran outside, and got in the car next to her best friend. The house was about 20 minutes away, so they put on the radio. Ellie's favorite song came on, and they began singing.

_**You know when the sun forgets to shine**_

_**I'll be there to hold you through the night**_

_**And we'll be running so fast we could fly tonight**_

_**And even when we're miles and miles apart**_

_**You're still holding all of my heart**_

_**I promise it'll never be dark**_

_**I know we're inseparable**_

While singing, It made Gabriella think of Troy. The song pretty much described their relationship perfectly. The more the song went on, the more she hoped that Troy would be at the party.

They pulled up to the house at around 10, and walked in. This party was even crazier than the last. The whole entire house smelled of alcohol and drugs. There were people making out in every corner. The music was so loud, you couldn't even hear yourself think.

"Hey El" said a voice. Gabriella and Ellie spun around and saw Cody standing there.

"Hey Cody!" Ellie said as she stood on her tippy toes and gave him a kiss. "This is my best friend Gabriella" she continued.

"Hi" Gabriella said as she extended her hand. " I've heard a lot of great things about you"

"Same here" he replied "Hey El do you wanna go over and meet some of my friends?" he asked.

Ellie looked over at Gabriella, who reluctantly told her to go. Cody an Ellie left, and went to some other part of the house. Gabriella walked around the house, hoping to see Troy. She searched for a few minutes, but there was still no sign of him.

She went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. This time, she knew better than to drink the punch. She did not want a repeat of what happened at the last party.

She roamed around the house a little more before seeing Ellie in the corner making out with Cody.

_Yeah, she really wanted to meet his friends_ she thought to herself.

She walked over and tapped Ellie on the shoulder. Ellie gave her a glare for ruining the moment.

"Um Ellie, can I talk to you for a second?" Gabriella questioned, ignoring the glare. Ellie nodded and followed her into another room.

"Listen Ellie. Someone's going to figure out we're from West High. We should really get going soon" Gabriella said, with a little bit of worry in her voice.

"No one's going to find out Gabs! Just chill out and have fun. You could use some!" Ellie exclaimed. She turned and started walked back over to Cody. "Oh, and next time please don't interrupt my make-out session!" she said as she turned around.

Gabriella just laughed and started roaming around the house. Little did she know Jeff Sanders, East High's football captain, had just heard her whole conversation with Ellie. While she was walking around the house, she felt someone tap her should. She spun around excitedly, thinking it could possibly be Troy.

It wasn't. It was someone she's never seen before. He was tall and muscular, and had bright green eyes and blonde hair. He was good looking, but defiantly not as good looking as Troy.

"Um Hi?" She said, making it sound like more of a question then a statement.

"Hi, I'm Jeff. And who might you be, beautiful?" he said with a flirtatious voice.

She rolled her eyes at him and turned away.

"Excuse me. I asked you a question" he repeated, this time with anger in his voice.

"I heard you, but I'm not going to tell you who I am" she said.

"Listen. I know you go to West High, and unless you want everyone at this party to know, I recommend you tell me your name" He said as he pushed her up against the wall.

"I-I'm G-Gabriella." she answered, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"That's a girl" he said. Then he tightened his grip, and kissed her. She couldn't figure out why. One. moment he was flirting with her, then he was threatening her, and know he's kissing her. It's like he has multiple personalities.

"Get away from me!" she screamed, and by this time she had tears in her eyes. Instead of saying anything, he just continued to kiss her. While he kissed her, she continued to scream and try to wiggle free of his grasp, which wasn't working to well. "You're hurting my wrist!" she screamed.

"I believe she said get away Sanders" a cold voice came from behind Jeff. He let go of Gabriella and snapped around to see Troy Bolton standing behind him. Jeff just smirked at Troy.

"What do you want Bolton. I'm kind of in the middle of something, and I'd like to continue" he said.

Gabriella was now on the ground, hugging her knees tightly while cradling her wrist.. She was wondering how Troy was staying so calm. He wasn't even a little bit afraid of Jeff.

"You're not continuing anything. Get away from her." He said, anger now in his voice and his eyes.

"Back off Bolton. The little whore wants it anyway" he said with a laugh.

That crossed the line. Without giving it a second though, he tackled Jeff to the ground and punched him in the face.

"SHE'S NOT A WHORE!" he screamed as he punched him again. "And if you ever, ever come near her again…I'll kill you without even giving it a second thought." Troy whispered in his ear before getting up and walking over to Gabriella.

She was still crying and shaking uncontrollably. Not only was she crying because she was scared, she was also crying because her wrist was throbbing.

Troy kneeled down beside he and gently put his hand on her shoulder. She flinched at his simple touch.

"Brie. Brie it's Troy." He whispered quietly. She looked up and moved closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up to her feet.

"Come on. I'll take you home" He whispered. He held her closely, and led her through the house, receiving looks from people who didn't know what happened.

He took her out the front door and continued to walk until they got to his car, He opened the door, and helped her in before walking over to the drivers side and getting in.

"Are you okay?" he asked, once he got in the car, She shrugged. He noticed her holding her left wrist in her hand, so gently moved her hand, revealing a large bruise.

Anger filled his veins, He made a mental note to continue beating the hell out of Sanders some other time.

"Oh God Brie" was all he could manage to say.

"I'm fine" she replied quickly. "Can you please just take me home now" she said with pleading eyes.

"I really think you should have that checked out. I can drive you to the hospital, it's no big deal." He said as he started the car.

"No!" she screamed. "I'll just put some ice on it when I get home" she said.

Troy nodded, and began driving to Gabriella's. They drove in a comfortable silence, until Gabriella broke it.

"You know Troy, this seems to be becoming a habit" she simply said.

He gave her a questioning look and said "What does?"

"Me getting into trouble at a party, you coming to the rescue, then you driving me home" she replied, now looking him straight in the eye. " I feel like the biggest loser ever. You probably think I'm some stupid kid who can't even take care of herself."

"Brie! I don't think that at all" He said, taking her hand in his. "Sanders if the captain of the football team. He was stronger then you…It's not your fault. Besides, I like coming to the rescue. I get to see you more" He said, flashing his million dollar smile.

Gabriella let out a small chuckle. "You're so cheesy, you know that Bolton"

"Hey, that's one of my best qualities!" he protested as he pulled up in front of her house. Gabriella just giggled.

"Well thanks for everything Troy" She said as she opened the car door and got out.

"No problem. And remember to put ice on your wrist!" He screamed as she walked up the path to her door.

She nodded, opened the door, and walked in.

She saw her mother sitting in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee.

"Hey mom what are you still doing up?" She questioned as she sat down next to her.

"Gabi, we need to talk" her replied.

**A/N: Ok, so a little bit of a cliffhanger. I hate doing that, but I felt it was a good place to leave off. ****By the way, the song was Inseparable by the Jonas Brother! Please Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL!**

_"Gabi, we need to talk"_

* * *

"Um okay. What's going on?" Gabriella asked with a bit of worry in her voice.

"Well you see hunny Richard and I…." she started, but her voice drifted. "…We separated today."

"FINALLY!" Gabriella screamed. She didn't mean to, but it just sort of slipped out. She looked at her mom and mumbled "sorry"

"Well there's a little bit more sweetheart" Her mom continued, taking Gabi's hands in hers.

"Okay…" Gabi answered.

"Well we decided Richard was going to keep the house." Her mom explained.

"But mom! We're going to be out on the streets! How are we going to survive out there? There's no way we-" Gabi started, but was soon cut off by her mom.

"Don't worry sweetie! I found us a little home on the other side of town. It's perfect for just the two of us!" Her mom stated.

Relief immediately washed over Gabi's face. Then she thought about it-

"Wait. The other side of town? That means that-" Once again, she was cut off by her mom.

"You're going to have to transfer to East High" Mrs. Montez said, unsure of what her daughters reaction was going to be. "You start on Monday" she continued.

"R-Really? Mom, this is great! That's where Troy goes!" Gabi exclaimed as she ran upstairs, and began packing her items into boxes.

"This is the best day of my life!" Gabriella exclaimed to no one in particular. One she was finished packing her clothes into boxes, she decided to call Troy and tell him the good news. She went over to her cell phone, went through her contacts until she got to one that said Troy, and hit call.

The phone rung about two times before someone answered/

"Hello?" He questioned. He sounded like he just woke up.

"Troy it's Gabi!" she said, with obvious excitement.

"Hey Brie! What's going on?" He questioned.

"You're never going to believe what happened! My mom finally left Richard!" she exclaimed. Troy chuckled, because he could just imagine her jumping up and down in joy.

"Brie that's amazing!" he said, with just as much excitement.

"Well that's not even the best part! We're moving! I'm starting at East High on Monday!" she said.

Troy's smile turned into a frown. He knew that if the kids at his school found out she was from West High, they'd make her life miserable. Even worse, since he was a jock, they would expect him to make her life miserable too. ECSPECIALLY if she was a nerd.

"Um that's great" he said with fake enthusiasm.

"What's wrong Troy? D-Don't you want me to go there?" she questioned with sadness present in her voice. Hearing her sound so sad broke his heart.

"No Brie, It's not that. It's just that…since you came from West High kids may not treat you so well, and since I'm…well…me…they may expect me to..you know." He said. He knew what he just said didn't come out right. "I'm really glad you're coming! It's just..I'm trying to protect you" he added.

"I don't need you to protect me Troy. I can take care of myself." She said.

Troy could tell she was crying , considering the fact her voice was muffled and a little shaky.

"I know you can Brie." He said. "But you know what! People don't have to find out you're from West High. Just say you came from China or something!" He exclaimed.

Gabriella let out a laugh. "China?" she questioned.

"Well it was the first thing I could think of!" Troy said. "Anyways, why don't you sit with my friends and I at lunch on Monday?"

Gabriella sighed. "I don't know if that's really a good idea Troy"

"Of course it is! You're sitting there, even if I have to find you, pick you up, and drag you into the cafeteria! And I'll tell you what. Monday morning, I'll pick you up and drive you to school so I can give you one of my world famous Troy Bolton tours!"

Gabriella chuckled. "Okay. I'll text you later with my new address." She said, finally giving in in defeat.

"Great. So be ready at 6:45" He said.

"Mkay. Bye Troy" she said. He said goodbye and they both hung up.

Gabriella put her phone on her dresser, and started packing all her books.

"This may take a while" she mumbled to herself.

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! This is practically a filler, so that's why it's not very long. I'll try to update very soon! Like by tomorrow. I've just been really busy because I start school on Monday. Anyways review please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL **

Gabriella woke up Monday morning at 5. She got a quick shower, put on a cute outfit, and grabbed some quick breakfast. By the time she was done, it was just about time for Troy to come get her.

She was really nervous to be starting at East High. Even though she already knew Troy, she was still scared. She didn't want the other students to find out she was from West High. The last thing she needed in her life was more drama.

She also didn't want to be classified as the schools nerd again. This time, she hopped she would have more than just one friend. The only thing she did know was that no matter what, she had Troy and Ellie.

Ellie was the only reason Gabriella didn't want to leave West High. The only good thing was that East High wasn't that far from West High. Ellie's house was only about a 25 minute walk and a 10 minute drive from Gabriella's new house.

Gabriella was snapped out of her thoughts by a sudden knock at the door. She quickly got up and answered it. Standing in front of her was Troy, who was wearing a pair of jeans and a blue polo shirt that made his eyes look even more amazing than usual.

"Hey" he greeted her, with a million dollar smile planted on his face.

"Hey Troy." she said, looking out the door. " Where's your car?" she continued, giving Troy a confused look.

"Oh yeah I forgot to tell you, I walk to school. It's only about a 10 minute walk from here" he said.

"Oh. Well how long did it take you to walk here?" Gabriella questioned.

Troy just chuckled, grabbed her hand, and lead her out to the porch. He pointed to the car sitting in the driveway of the house next door and said " Look familiar?"

Gabriella's jaw slightly dropped and her eyes widened. "You live n-next door to me?" she questioned, still in apparent shock.

Troy laughed at her reaction and nodded in response.

"Well you could have told me when I text you and gave you my address!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah but if I did that, I wouldn't be able to see what your face looked like, and where's the fun in that?" he said, giving her a smirk.

She playfully slapped him on the arm and said " Let me just go grab my backpack"

She ran into her house, and came out a minute later carrying a pink backpack. "Let's go" she said.

They arrived at the school 10 minutes later, just like Troy had said. He looked over at Gabriella, who had a worried expression on her face,

"Nervous?" he questioned.

"Just a little" she replied.

"Don't worry about it. Just remember, if they ask you're from Japan" he said, trying to make her smile.

She looked over at him and said " Last time you told me to say I was from China"

"Yeah, well I changed my mind" He said, causing Gabriella to let out a little laugh. "You ready?" he asked. She looked over at him and nodded.

Together, the walked through the doors of East High. Gabriella was amazed by the school. It was so much bigger than West High. All the lockers were red, and there were huge banners hung up everwhere that said "GOOD LUCK WILDCATS!" on them.

One poster that caught Gabriella's attention was one that had Troy and some kid with big hair on it.

"Who's that?" she asked Troy while gesturing to the poster.

Troy looked over and laughed. "You mean the kid with the afro? That's my best friend Chad Danforth. He's the co-captain of the basketball team."

"Wow, you two seem like you're a big deal here" she said. Troy just shrugged in response.

"Well I have to head off to early morning basketball practice. The office is right there." he said, point to a room to his left. "You can go get your schedule. Any room in the 100's in on the first floor, 200's is on the second, and 300's is on the third floor." he said.

Gabriella nodded, said goodbye to Troy, and walked into the office. The secretary gave her a slip of paper with a list of classes on it. She looked at the paper to find her homeroom. "Ms. Darbus room 211" she mumbled to herself.

She took Troy's advice, and took a flight of steps to get to the second floor. She walked down the hall until she found room 211. She walked in the room, and her first guess was it was some sort of drama room. She walked up to the teacher, who was explained the fundamentals of theatre.

"Excuse me?" Gabriella asked in a small voice.

The blonde haired teacher turned around and said "yes?"

"I'm Gabriella Montez, I just transferred here"

"Oh yes Ms. Montez, I was expecting you. Go ahead and take a seat, homeroom will be starting in about 5 minutes"

Gabriella nodded and took a seat in the very back of the class room. She sat there, staring out in space until a voice snapped her of her thoughts. She looked to see a girl standing in front of her with a smile on her face.

"Hi, I'm Taylor McKessie" the young woman said, extending her hand out to Gabriella.

"Gabriella Montez" Gabi said, gladly shaking the girls hand. "But you can call me Gabi"

"It's nice to meet you Gabi. Do you mind if I take a look at your schedule?" Taylor asked.

"No of course not" Gabi said, taking her schedule of her purse and handing it to Taylor.

Taylor looked at the paper, and her eyes slightly widened. "AP Bio, AP Calculus, and practically every other AP class there is!" Taylor exclaimed.

Gabriella looked down, her cheeks turning slightly red.

"Um yeah" was all she said.

"I take all AP classes too!" Taylor explained. "I'm actually captain of the scholastic decathlon team"

Gabriella's frown turned into a smile and she said " I was the captain and my old school!"

"Really?! Well Gabi, I have a feeling we're going to be great friends." Taylor said. Just as Gabriella was about to reply, the bell rang signaling the start of homeroom.

Everyone scurried to their seats, while Ms.Darbus was rambling on about cell phones.

After a few minutes, two boys ran into the room, sweating and out of breath.

"Mr. Danforth Mr.Bolton how nice of you to join us" Ms. Darbus said, giving the boys a glare.

"Sorry..Ms. Darbus…practice…ran…late" Troy said in between breaths.

"Just take a seat you two." Ms. Darbus said.

They boys nodded. Chad took a seat next to Taylor, while Troy sat in the front of the room. He looked back and noticed Gabriella sitting there smiling at him. He returned the smile, and gave her a little wave.

"Well class, now that you're all here, I'd like you to welcome our new student, Gabriella Montez. Ms. Montez just transferred here from West High" Ms. Darbus said.

As soon as she said this, the room got dead quiet. Everyone looked at her, giving her the If-Looks-Could-Kill-You'd-Be-Dead look. Gabriella had a look of horror on her face. She started to sink down in her seat, hoping everyone would stop looking at her.

Troy just sat there in shock. He couldn't believe Ms.Darbus was actually stupid enough to say that out loud.

"Oh shit" he mumbled to himself.

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in forever! It was only the first week of school, and I already have TONS of homework. It's horrible!**


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL.**

**Some of you are going to hate me for this, but remember…I'm a fan of Troyella. So don't worry!**

* * *

As soon as class ended, Troy raced out the door trying to find Gabriella. Unfortunately, she had already left the classroom. He wandered down the hall trying to find her, but all he found was Chad and the rest of the basketball team.

"Dude!" Chad exclaimed as he walked over to Troy "I can't believe the new chick's from West High. It's too perfect!"

"What do you mean it's too perfect?" Troy asked with a confused expression on his face.

Chad put one hand on Troy's should and said "She's a nerd from West High! Looks like we found ourselves a new victim to bully! We can make her spy on the West High team for us too!"

Troy's eyes widened when he realized that the team was going to expect him to bully Gabriella just like he bullied every other new person at the school who took all honors classes. He didn't know what to do. There were two options. One…he could just tell his team he was friends with Gabriella and he didn't want to hurt her. Or two…he would just go along with it and bully her.

Option number one. It could totally ruin his reputation by hanging out with a nerd. Especially a nerd from West High. He could even get kicked off the basketball team. I don't think his teammates would be too thrilled about him hanging out with a Knight.

Option number two. The thought of him hurting Gabriella practically broke his heart. Then again, he didn't even know her that long. And trouble usually seems to follow her. Maybe it would just be better to stay away from her?

"Troy? TROY?!" Chad screamed as he snapped his fingers in front of Troy's face. Within a matter of seconds, Troy snapped out of his thought and back into reality.

"Sorry dude" Troy said.

"Yeah yeah it's okay. We're heading off to lunch...wanna come?"Chad asked.

Troy thought for a second. Earlier in the day, he had promised Gabriella she could eat with him and his friends. Obviously, that wasn't going to work now. "Sure" Troy replied, putting a fake smile on his face. He couldn't believe what he was doing to Gabriella.

GABRIELLA'S POV.

As soon as class left, I ran out of the classroom before everyone else did.

I walked to where Troy told me to meet him for lunch, only to find that he wasn't even there. I guess I should have seen that coming. I waited for 5 minutes, hoping he could be late. But nothing. Nothing at all.

I started walking around, and I found a staircase, and decided to walk up and see what was there.

I walked up the steps only to see an amazing room full of gorgeous flowers. I looked out the window, and saw the mountains ahead. I was pretty high up, so I figured I may have been on the roof.

I sat down on a bench, and pulled my lunch out of my purse. I began to eat alone, wishing Troy would walk up the steps any minute. Yeah right, like that would happen. I couldn't help but let a little tear fall when I realized he wasn't coming.

After lunch was over, I headed back to her locker to get my books for my last 3 classes. I started to pull out my chemistry book when I heard a group of people approaching me. I turned around to see a group of guys, including Troy, standing around me.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" one of the boys with a huge afro said.

I didn't say anything. I just stood there, looking at Troy who had a smirk on his face, but his eyes were begging for forgivness. I knew by the look in his eyes that he was sorry for whatever was about to happen.

"So you're from West High, huh?" The kid with the afro said. "Here to spy on us? What are you gonna do…watch us practice and then tell your team our plays or something" he continued.

"N-No" I stuttered. "My mom and I just moved h-here" I continued.

"Well here's the deal. We"…he said, gesturing to the basketball team standing around him "…rule the school around here."

The whole time the afro haired kid was talking to me, I was subconsciously gripping the locket around my neck, which I always did when I was scared. This didn't go unnoticed by the basketball team.

"You're not letting go of that necklace. Must mean a lot to you." The boy said with a smirk. I knew what was coming next wasn't going to be funny. By the look in his eyes, Troy knew too. He knew how important that locket was to me.

_FLASHBACK._

_Troy and Gabriella were in a local diner sharing a basket of fries. It was silent, but not an uncomfortable silence. Finally Troy spoke._

_"Hey Brie, can I ask you a random question?" he asked_

_"Go for it" she said, sticking a fry in her mouth._

_"Well I noticed every time I see you, you have that locket on. Why?" he questioned._

_Gabriella was hesitant for a moment, not sure whether or not to answer his question. She's already told him some of the most personal things in her life, so she decided she might as well tell him._

_"Well" she sighed. "I got it on my 8th birthday. It was a present from my dad. I-I remember I was laying down in my bed after my party, listening to my new Backstreet Boy CD that my best friend Ellie got me." she said, letting out a chuckle. " Then I heard a knock at the door and saw my dad walk in, holding a tiny red box. He sat down on the bed and handed me the box. When I opened it, I saw the locket. After he put it on my, he told me that whenever I was scared or alone, to hold that necklace and he'd be there with me no matter how far away he was. He died a month later in a plane crash" she finished , her eyes glossy from trying to hold back tears._

_Troy looked at her with sympathetic eyes. He grabbed her hand, and gave it a light, reassuring squeeze. She looked up, and smiled at him._

_END OF FLASHBACK._

"W-Well not really. I just bought it from Claires the other day" I lied.

"You're lying." the boy said.

"N-No I'm not" I said, hoping he would just walk away. No luck.

In a swift movement, the boy grabbed ahold of the necklace, and pulled it off of my neck.

Tears started to form in my eyes as I saw the boy holding my beloved necklace in his hands.

"Please give it back" I said in a whisper, hoping he would hear the sorrow in my voice.

"Not a chance" he said, walking away with the rest of his basketball team- and my necklace.

I slid against the lockers, pulling my knees up to my chest and letting a few tears fall. Today was not my day. First people found out I was from West High, then I got stood up for lunch, then that afro-haired bastard stole the only piece of my dad I had left. That, however, wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was that Troy, the boy that I thought cared about me, stood there the whole time and not saying one word to stop them.

**A/N: I'M SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT ! I've been working on this chapter for about 4 days, and I just can't get happy with it. I would have liked to have made it better, but I didn't wanna keep you guys waiting. Please read and review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL!**

* * *

**_Troy's Point of View_**

I was sitting in Chemistry class, which I had with Chad, Zeke, and Jason. They were all talking, but I was too caught up in my own thoughts to listen. All I could think about was how upset Gabriella was, and how I was the partial cause of it. Why didn't I just stop them? I knew how important that necklace was to her, and I just stood there watching!

Chad, Zeke, and Jason all continued to talk to me, thinking I was listening. In reality, I didn't hear a word they said. I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts when the bell rang, singling for 6th period, which was gym. I loved gym. It was one of the only classes I'm good at.

Chad, Zeke, Jason, and I all started walking towards the gym. It was another class we all had together. We went into the locker rooms, got changed, and quickly made our way into the gym. I looked around when something caught my eye. Gabriella was in my gym class!

**_REGULAR POV_**

She was standing there in a pair of red gym shorts, and a white shirt that had Wildcats written in red. Standing next to her was Taylor McKessie, her new friend. They were laughing about something, but Troy could tell Gabriella was just putting on an act. He knew that wasn't her real laugh. He knew she was upset.

"Class!" a voice called, pulling Troy out of his thoughts. "We'll be playing soccer today. I'm going to be splitting you into two teams. Will you please all line up on the black line!" The gym teacher, Mr. Kline said.

The class scurried onto the black line, following the instructions

"Ok, on the first team we will have Zeke, Chad, Taylor, Caitlyn, Bridgette, and Brian. On the second team we will have Troy, Jason, Gabriella, Sharpay, Sam, and Mike." Mr. Kline announced.

The teenagers quickly got onto their sides of the fields, and waited for the coach to blow the whistle.

"Ready for the plan?" Jason asked with a sheepish smile.

"What pla-" Troy started, but was cut off when the teacher blew the whistle.

The class continued to play for another 10 minutes, and the score was 1-2 with Troy's team in the lead. He looked over at Chad who nodded his head and mouthed "you ready?"

Ready? Ready for what? Troy thought to himself.

Taylor was running down the field with the ball. Seeing that Chad was open, she passed the ball to him. He dribbled up so he was closer to Gabriella and stopped. Then, he stepped back an inch and swung his foot, kicking it with all his might.

"Hey Gabriella!" he screamed, making her look at him for a brief second before-

_BAM_. The ball hit her in the face. She stood there for a moment, not realizing what was going on. She went to take a step forward, but fell to the ground.

Jason, Zeke, and Chad all started cracking up, but Troy just stood here in pure amazement. He knew his friends hated West High, and everyone from it, but how could the stoop so low? She didn't do anything to them.

"Troy man, wasn't that great!" Chad exclaimed coming up to him.

"NO it wasn't great you dumbass! I can't believe you'd do that!" he said, running up to the circle that was now surrounding Gabriella, with Jason, Zeke, and Chad hot on his tail.

There she was, just laying on the ground not moving.

"Ok everyone back up!" The teacher yelled, gently shaking Gabriella to try to get her up.

"Mr. Danforth, since you are the one who hit Ms.Montez with the ball, will you carry her to the nurse please?" Mr. Kline asked.

"Are you kidding me? She's from West High. No way" Chad replied.

"MR. DANFORTH. I RECOMMEND YOU PICK MS.MOTEZ UP RIGHT NOW OR ELSE-" Mr.Kline started, but was cut off by a sudden voice

"I'll take her" Troy said.

"Dude. Troy. Montez is from West High, why the hell would you wanna help her?!" Jason exclaimed.

"Because unlike you guys, I'm gonna do the right thing." he simply stated.

"Well Thank you Mr. Bolton. " the teacher said. " Class, go ahead and get changed. Class will end early today due to the circumstances"

The rest of the class scurried into the locker rooms, leaving Troy and an unconscious Gabriella behind. He bent down the pick her up when she started to stir.

"Brie? Gabriella?" He gently said, trying to wake her up. After a moment, her eyes fluttered open.

"T-Troy?" she quietly asked. Troy nodded in reply.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You got hit with a soccer ball during gym. I was just about to carry you to the nurse" she said with a small smile.

"THE HELL YOU ARE!" she exclaimed, jumping off the ground but stumbling back down due the massive headache she had.

Troy put a hand on her back, trying to steady her, but she just smacked it off.

"Brie what's wrong?" he asked, even though he already knew.

"First of all, don't call me Brie anymore! You lost that privilege the moment you changed. And second of all, how dare you ask me what's wrong. First you tell me you'll always be there for me, and then you just ditch me! I had to eat lunch alone because of you and your lies! Then you let your jackass friends take my locket." She said. "You knew how much that locket meant to me Troy." she added, this time her voice was a bit quieter. "It was the only part of him I had left."

"Br-Gabriella. I-I'm sorry. Can't you just forgive me?" he asked, with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Forgive you?! You actually want me to forgive you? I can't believe you ! When it's just you and me, you're so nice and sweet and caring, but then your friends come around and you turn into this huge asshole who thinks he can get whatever the hell his little heart desires! Well newsflash Bolton. I'm not the kind of girl who's going to forgive you just because you ask me to. And you know what? I'm not gonna be afraid of you and your basketball friends anymore because I'm tired of people like you thinking you can control and scare anyone you want!" She screamed, releasing all her anger. And boy did it feel good. "And you know what Troy. I don't even care anymore. I know your popularity is important to you, so go ahead and keep on torturing me. See if I give a damn"

Troy, taken aback from the sudden outburst, stood silent for a moment before recollecting his thoughts

"Gabriella! I said I was sorry." Troy said, mentally kicking himself for saying that. Unfortunately, it was the only thing he could think of.

"Yeah, Well sorry isn't good enough." She said, turning around and making her way to the door.

"W-Wait I'm s-supposed to take you to the nurse!" he exclaimed, running to catch up to her.

"I can find it myself" she said sharply, exiting through the door and leaving Troy alone in the gym.

* * *

**A/N: So there you go! Pretty much a filler. I just wanted you guys to see it's not gonna be too easy for Gabriella to forgive Troy, and I wanted Gabriella to come out of her shell and speak her mind.**


	11. Chapter 11

DISCLAIMER: DONT OWN HSM!

* * *

The bell finally rang, signaling the end of the day. Troy quickly walked to his locker to put his books away and grab his keys. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened today.

Why had his friends hurt Gabriella? She didn't do anything to them. It's not like she chose to go to West High.

He still couldn't believe Gabriella flipped out like that. Shy, sweet Gabriella had lost her cool, and it shocked Troy.

He shut his locker and started walking down the hall toward the main door. Once he reached it, he put his hood up as he noticed it was raining. He quickly walked out the door and jogged over to his car.

He started up his engine and pulled out of his parking space which was number 14 (In my school, our parking spaces are numbered). He had, of course, been given that parking space when he had made captain of the wildcats.

After a few minutes of driving, he had finally arrived at his home. He parked in the driveway and made his way onto the porch when he heard a pounding sound. He looked around and noticed a girl standing on the porch of her house, desperately trying to open the door. He immediately realized it was Gabriella. She looked like she was locked out or something.

Troy didn't know what to do. Should he go over and help her even after her little outburst of something or should he leave her stuck outside in the rain.

He decided he had to go over and at least try to help, or else he'd feel more guilty then he already does.

He once again put up his hood and left the dryness of his porch, running through his lawn and over to hers. He slowly walked up the stairs just in time to listen to her let out a frustrated sigh.

"Having a little trouble?" Troy asked

Shocked by the voice, Gabriella jumped a little and turned around. Troy immediately noticed that she had a black and blue eye.

"What do you want?" she asked sharply, giving him a glare.

"Well I uh...just noticed you were having some trouble getting the door open, and I just wanted to see if you needed any help" he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. He always did that when he was nervous.

"I don't need your help. And I'm not having trouble getting the door open, I'm just locked out. My mom's at work and since we just moved in I don't have my spare key yet" She said.

"Oh. Well what time's your mom get home from w-work?" he asked, trying to avoid her eyes.

He was afraid to look her straight in the eye. He wasn't quite sure what he would see. Fear? Anger? Sadness? Maybe even forgiveness? He didn't know.

"Ten" she answered simply.

"That's six hours!" he exclaimed.

She scoffed at him before saying "Wow good at basketball and math. No wonder everyone loves you"

He let out a sigh before seeing her shiver a little from the cold. He'd give her the hoodie that he had on, but it was soaked.

"Um d-do you wanna borrow one of my hoodies?" Troy asked, once again putting his hand on his neck and looking down at the ground.

"Nope. And speaking of hoodies as soon as I can get into my house I'll bring over your varsity one." she replied, still giving him a glare.

She immediately saw hurt in his eyes, which made her feel somewhat guilty. After all he has been nice to her, up until she started at East High.

"Oh. Um ok" he said, trying to shake the hurt look in his eyes. "But um since it's raining and it's cold a-and stuff, do you wanna come over. I mean we don't have to stay in the same r-room or anything. You could go up to my room and I could stay downstairs or I could go up to my room and you could stay downstairs. I just don't wanna leave you out he-" he continued but was cut off by Gabriella.

"This is what pisses me off Troy! As soon as we're alone, you act all sweet and caring towards me but then your friends come along and you're a complete Jackass!" She snapped.

"I know" Troy whispered softly. "I'm really sorry Gabriella. Seriously, I am." he said, looking her in the eyes for the first time since they started talking.

Gabriella immediately realized how truly sorry he was. His eyes were practically begging for forgiveness. Although she didn't want to forgive him just yet, she figured she should at least give him a chance to explain everything.

She let out a sigh before saying "You're just luck I'm freezing"

Troy's face perked up before asking "You mean you'll come over?"

She nodded, causing Troy to break out into a grin. He took her hand and led her off her porch and on to his. He let go to unlock the door, and led her in with his hand on the small of her back, shutting the door behind them.

"So do you want me to go upstairs or something?" he asked, once again looking down at the floor.

"No" Gabriella replied simply. "It's your house."

Troy just nodded and led her over to the couch. He tuned on the TV and put on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Troy was the first to break it.

"Does is hurt?" he asked out of the blue.

She turned to him and gave him a questioning look. "Does what hurt?" she asked.

"Um y-your eye. It looks pretty bad" he said, his electric blue eyes meeting her brown ones.

"Yes" she replied simply.

"I should have stopped them" he whispered quietly.

" Troy it's not your f-" she started but the she cut herself off. " wait a minute. YOU KNEW?!" she exclaimed as she shot up off the couch.

Troy immediately shot up with her and said "no! no. I mean I think they were telling me that they a plan to do something to you, but I was too busy thinking about you to listen!"

" Then why did you say you should have stopped them?" she snapped at him.

"Because I should have listened to what they said! Gabriella you have to believe me if I knew they were going to hurt you I would have stopped them in a second!" Troy exclaimed. Once again, there was true sincerity in his eyes.

Gabriella knew he was telling the truth. Troy wasn't the kind of guy that would just sit there and let her get hurt.

"Look. I know that I've been a bastard Gabriella. I should have stopped them when they were taking your necklace and I shouldn't have let them try to kill you with a soccer ball. It's just my popularity got to my head. I always seem to put it before the people who are important to me." Troy took a deep breath. "Gabriella, you're important to me." he whispered.

Gabriella let out another sigh. It seemed like she was going that a lot lately. "Troy. You're important to me too, but I just don't know if I can trust you anymore" she said

"Gabriella I will do anything to gain your trust back." He said while taking her hands in hers.

"Ok Troy. I'll give you some time to gain my trust back, but if you do anything to screw that up I'm done" she said.

Troy let out a sigh of relief and pulled Gabriella into a hug. "You don't know how much this means to me Gabriella. Thank you" he said as he continued to hold her.

"You're welcome Troy. And by the way...It's not Gabriella" she said, getting a stange look from Troy.

"It's Brie"

**A/N: So there you go ! Sorry for the wait, but school has been crazy lately! I had four projects due on the same day. It was insane. Anyway, please review**!


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL**

* * *

Troy walked into East High feeling on top of the world. Gabriella forgave him. She actually forgave him! He got to his locker, still grinning sheepishly as he put in his combination and popped it open.

"Hey Troy!" a perky voice called, pulling him out of his thoughts. He turned around to see Gabi there, smiling just as big as he was.

"Hey Brie. What's up?" he questioned, leaning against his locker and looking down at her.

"I was just about to go to the library. I have a huge research paper on Australia due next week" she said.

"Blows. Hey I was wonderi-" he began, but was cut off by the sound of a new voice.

"Captain. What are with…this" Chad's voice said as he gave her a disgusted look.

Troy froze. He had no idea what to say to Chad. He was afraid of what Chad might do or say if he found out he was friends with Gabriella. On the other hand, he was just starting to get Gabriella's trust back, and he didn't want to do anything to ruin it. He couldn't understand why it was so hard to tell Chad the truth. So what if he didn't like Gabriella. That was his problem. Plus, if he go to know her he'd probably like her! Besides, Troy was still really mad at Chad for hitting Gabriella with a soccer ball. Even if he hated her, that was just crossing the line.

Troy looked over to Gabriella who had a hurt look in her eyes. You could tell she wanted to defend herself, but she just couldn't. Troy knew what he had to do.

"First of all, her name is Gabriella. And second of all, I'm talking to her" Troy replied simply. Troy once again glanced down at Gabriella, whose eyes know showed shock and gratefulness.

Chad went wide-eyed before speaking again. "Why would you wanna talk to her!? Dude, she's a nerd from West High"

Troy's eyes flashed with anger.

"You know what Chad. I didn't stop you when you were insulting her the first time or taking her lessons. I didn't deck you when you hit her with a soccer ball…and trust me, I wanted to. But now, you're just crossing the line. Seriously, what did she ever do to you?" He exclaimed letting some anger out, and boy did it feel good!

Chad, surprised by Troy's sudden outburst, froze for a second. Finally regaining some of his senses, he went on to speak.

"S-She went to West High. That should be enough for you to hate her too!" Chad exclaimed.

Troy went to step up to Chad, but Gabriella held him back.

"Well Chad you wanna hear something funny? You remember that party where you saw me taking some girl home? Well, that girl was Gabriella. And you want to hear something even funnier? I knew she was from West High, and I still gave her a ride home!" Troy let out a small, dry laugh before continuing. "And this…this is going to make you laugh even more." He said, and then turned toward Gabriella.

"Gabriella. Do you want to go to the movies with me tonight on a date?" He blurted out, without even giving it a second thought

Gabriella and Chad both looked Troy, wide-eyed.

"Huh?" was all Gabriella was able to say. She wasn't expecting that at all.

"Do you want to go to the movies with me tonight. Y-you know, as a date?" He repeated himself.

Gabriella's confused expression soon turned into a smile.

"Yeah. Yeah I'd like that a lot!" She said, smiling even bigger.

Troy automatically smiled before pulling her into a hug. Then, he turned to Chad whose eyes were now even wider than before, and his jaw was practically to the ground.

"So Chad. Did ya think that was funny?" Troy said, with a smirk on his face.

"D-Dude! You can't…That's just not r….but…dude!" was all Chad could manage to say.

"Look Chad. You've been my best friend since Kindergarten, but if you can't learn to accept Gabriella, or at least be nice to her, you might as well stop talking to me. I can't have a best friend who goes around treating other people like shit just because they hate them for a stupid reason like what school they use to go to." Troy said. "She's really a great person. I just wish you would take the chance to see that" He continued, but this time his voice was smaller.

"Come on Gabs. Let's go" Troy said, taking her hand and walking down the hall leaving Chad there, shocked as ever.

* * *

"Troy, you really didn't have to do that. He's been your best friend for your whole life, you shoul-"

"Gabriella, you're rambling" Troy said with a smirk on his face.

Gabriella turned red from embarrassment, and put her head down. "I know. It's just…why did you do it?" she asked so quiet that Troy could barely hear her.

He let out a long sigh before answering. "Gabriella, sure he's been my best friend since Kindergarten. Yes, he's important to me. But so are you, and I didn't like the way he was treating you."

He stopped for a moment before continuing.

"Look, I know I should have stopped him when he stole your necklace. I still feel guilty for not doing anything. I feel even more guilty that you still have a black and blue eye because I didn't do anything to stop it. But I told you I was going to help you from now on, and I told you I was going to do whatever it takes to gain your trust back" He continued to tell her, looking her straight in the eye.

At first, she didn't know what to say. That was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to her.

"Troy. Like I said before, it'll take some time for you to gain my trust back." She said. His smile faded, and he looked down to the ground.

"But" she continued, making his head snap up and look at her. "That was defiantly a start" His frown immediately turned into a grin, and he pulled her into hug.

"But Troy?" She asked as he released her from his grip. "W-were you…ugh…serious…about you know…the m-movies tonight?" She stuttered, shifting from one foot to the other.

Troy let out a chuckle. She just looked so cute when she was nervous.

"Brie. I was completely serious. I'll pick you up at 6?"

She let out a small smile. "six." she confirmed.

"Great.! Hey I have to get to get going. My dad started these early morning basketball practices. He's hoping that they'll help us win the championship this year." Troy explained. "So I'll see you at six?"

Gabriella laughed and said "Yeah. See you then"

Gabriella watched as Troy ran down the hall and towards the gym. Once he was out of sight, she started to do a little happy dance right in the middle of the hall. Little did she know, Troy was doing the exact same thing in the gym.

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait! All of you should thank alyson14 cause she's the reason I update today.**


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: If Santa gets me High School Musical for Christmas, I'll let you know.**

Gabriella was sitting in her last period class. She looked at the clock. Only 24 more seconds to go.

She continued to stare at the clock. 6..5..4..3..2..1.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of the obnoxious bell ringing. She immediately gathered her things and stormed out of the room. Reaching her locker, she quickly opened it up and took out everything she needed to take home. Once her purse was packed, she headed for the front door.

She exited the school, and started making her way toward her house. She had to get home quickly. She wanted to make sure that she looked perfect for her date with Troy tonight.

Once she reached her new home, she opened the door, took off her shoes, and made her way into the kitchen.

"Hi mom" she said as she opened the refrigerator door and grabbed a bottle of water. "I'm going out with a friend tonight, is that okay?" she said as she sat down on one of the stools.

"Sure sweetie! Do I know this friend of yours?" she said while giving her daughter a small smile.

"Um I doubt it. You may have seen him around before. He lives next door" Gabriella simply stated.

Her moms smile grew larger. "Awe! My baby has a date!" she said, causing Gabriella to groan and put her head in her hands.

"Moooom" Gabriella started, stretching out the word mom. "We're just simply going to a movie. Nothing to make a big deal out of. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go get ready"

Before her mom had a chance to answer, Gabriella got up and quickly made her way up the stairs. Once she was inside her room, she shut the door and made her way over to her closet.

"Alright" Gabriella mumbled to herself. "It's 4:00. I have two hours."

She scanned her closet, looking at every single shirt, skirt, and pair of shoes.

"This may take a while" she muttered as she pulled out a random shirt.

After 23 minutes of trying on countless outfits she decided on the perfect one. She picked a pair of white skinny jeans, and a purple and white stripped emma top. To finish it off, she decided to add a pair of metallic purple heels, and a some gold bangles.

Once she was happy with her outfit, she moved onto her hair. She decided that since she had the time, she would straighten her hair. After her hair was straight, she curled one strand, deciding she would try something new.

It was already 5:15 by the time she was done with her outfit and hair. She quickly ran into her bathroom and began her make up. Gabriella hate make up, so she decided to only apply a little. She put on a little eyeliner and some gold eye shadow. She then applied some lip gloss.

She exited the bathroom and gave herself one final check in the mirror. Since she was happy with her appearance, she sprayed a little bit of her pink sugar perfume on, and made her way downstairs.

"Mom! What time is it?" Gabriella called into the kitchen once she reached the bottom of the steps.

"5:45" Her mom said, walking out of the kitchen while wiping her hands on her apron. She noticed the nervous look on her daughters face, and gave her a small smile.

"Mom" Gabriella started. "Mom I think I'm have a heart attack." Gabriella continued as she sat down on the couch.

Her moms smile got even bigger.

"Don't worry sweetie. I was a nervous wreck on my first date." She said, as she took a seat next to her daughter. "I remember when my date, Ross Ericson, knocked on the door I made me mom answer it while I hid behind the curtains" Anna Montez said, as she chuckled at the memory.

Gabriella also laughed.

"…But we ended up having a great time, just like I'm sure you and Troy will" She continued as she kissed her daughters forehead.

Gabriella smiled. "Thanks mom. You always know what to say to make me feel better"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang breaking up the mother-daughter moment.

"Oh God mom, he's here!" Gabriella stated in a worried voice.

Anna chuckled. "Don't worry sweetie, I'll get it. You stay right here" she said as she got off the couch. "And no hiding behind the curtains!" she joked as she walked toward the front door.

"Right now, that sounds like a good idea" Gabriella mumbled to herself.

Once Anna reached the front door, she opened it revealing a very nervous teenage boy.

"Um h-hi Ms. Montez, I'm Troy Bolton" He said, extending his hand for her to shake. She happily took it.

"It's nice to meet you Troy. Why don't you come on it for a minute" She said as she opened the door wider so he could enter.

"Gabriella's in the living room. I'll got get her" Ms. Montez said as she disappeared around the corner.

A moment later, Gabriella came in with her mother, looking just as nervous as Troy.

"Hi Troy" Gabriella said quietly, giving him a small smile.

"Hey. Are you ready to go?" He said returning the smile.

She nodded, gave her mom and kiss on the cheek, and followed Troy out the door.

Once outside, Troy walked a few steps in front of Gabriella and opened the car door for her.

"Thanks" she said as she got in the car.

Troy closed to door and ran around to the divers side. Once he got into the car, he turned to Gabriella and said "You look beautiful"

Gabriella put her head down, hoping he couldn't see her blush.

"Thanks. You know, you don't look too bad yourself." she replied.

Troy chuckled and started the car. The drive to the movies was full of small talk, laughing, and even singing. Once they arrived, Troy once again opened the door for Gabriella, causing her to blush once more.

They entered the movie people, and immediately noticed there were not a lot of people there, which they enjoyed.

"Two Tickets to see Dan in Real Life, please" Troy said as he reached the ticket counter.

"That'll be 18 dollars" The person behind the counter said. Troy pulled out his wallet, but was stopped by Gabriella.

"Troy, let me pay for my own ticket" She said as she took a 10 dollar bill out of her purse.

"Nope. I'm paying." He said, grinning like a 5 year old who just got his first allowance.

"Troy. We had this same fight when you took me to get ice cream. I'm paying!" she exclaimed.

"No No No. I'm the one that asked you to go out, so I'm paying and that's final!" He said as he handed the girl behind the counter a 20 dollar bill.

Gabriella sighed. Troy was impossible.

The two walked over to the concession stand to get some snacks and drinks.

Troy ordered a medium coke and a large popcorn for him and Gabriella to share, while Gabriella ordered a small Root Beer and some twizzlers.

"Your total will be 14.75" The man behind the counter said. Before Troy knew it, Gabriella whipped out 15 dollars and handed it to the man.

She smiled in triumph as she saw the look on Troy's face

"Well that's what you get for not letting me buy my own ticket" she said, grinning evilly.

"You're good Montez. You're good" He said, returning the same smile.

"I know!" She said. For a second, she sounded exactly like Sharpay, which caused Troy to chuckle.

Troy rolled his eyes and put his hand out.

"Shall we go, my lady?" He said with a fake accent.

She laughed at his attempt to sound British before taking his hand.

"Well shall" she said, imitating a much better accent than Troy.

The two walked into the movie and took a seat in the front. After 10 minutes of previews, the movie finally started. For the first 45 minutes, the couple sat and watched quietly content with each others company. Finally Gabriella broke the silence.

"Ok, This is the worst movie I have ever seen in my life" She whispered over to Troy.

Troy sighed with relief. "Thank God you said something. I was just thinking the same thing."

Gabriella chuckled and looked up at the screen one more time before turning her attention back to Troy.

"What times your curfew?" Troy asked. Gabriella gave him a confused look before saying "10:30"

Troy looked down at his watch and grinned. "It's only 7:30." he said. "You want to go somewhere else?"

Gabriella nodded and said "Sure, but where do you have in mind?"

"It's a surprise. Come on!" He said as he took her hand and pulled her out of the theater.

They once again got into Troy's car. They began driving down the road in silence. Gabriella was looking out the window, enjoying the scenery. It was the beginning of December, her favorite time of year. She loved the winter time, and she was excited for her favorite holiday- Christmas.

Every Christmas, her dad would take her out ever Christmas Eve to look at all the Christmas lights on the houses. That was always one of her favorite memories.

Now, only being the beginning of December, there were not a lot of lights up, but there were still some. Every 6 or 7 houses, there would be that one house that was beautifully decorated. And then on occasion, there would be a house or two that were over decorated.

After 15 minutes of driving, Troy stopped the car. Gabriella gave him a confused look, considering the fact there were no buildings or homes around them. There was just a lake.

"Um Troy, where are we?" she said as they got out of the car.

He smiled before saying "Andersons Lake. Every Christmas, my grandpa used to bring me here to go ice skating" He said before he took her hand and led her over to the lake.

"Wait, we're going ice skating…on that lake?" she said in disbelief.

"Yep!" Troy exclaimed.

"Isn't it…you know.. dangerous? She stammered.

He chuckled. "Nah. Like I said, I came here for most of my childhood. Trust me, it's safe"

She still looked unsure, but she decided to trust Troy.

"Wait a minute we don't have ice skates!" she said.

"I thought you were going to bring that up. Don't worry, I have it all covered" Troy said as he walked over to his car, opened the trunk, and pulled out two pairs of ice skates.

Gabriella looked at him with a shocked look on her face.

"But how did you kn-"

"I saw Dan in Real Life last week. I knew it sucked" He explained as he handed her a pair of skates.

"Well why didn't you tell me it sucked! You could have saved 20 dollars!" Gabriella exclaimed.

"Actually it was only 18 dollars. Plus, I thought that it would be more fun to surprise you" Troy said simply.

"You're really something, Bolton" Gabriella chuckled.

"I know" Troy said, imitating Gabriella from earlier.

They both put on their skates and made their way over to the ice. Troy noticed the nervous look on Gabriella's face and laughed.

"You've never skated before have you?" He asked.

"Yes!" Gabriella exclaimed. "It's just been a while" she mumbled.

Troy laughed once again. "I won't let go of your hand until you tell me to, okay?"

Gabriella nodded, and they slowly made their way onto the ice. As soon as she stepped onto the ice, Gabriella slipped. But as Troy promised, he didn't let go of her hand so he caught her.

"It's so slippery!" Gabriella said, and she held onto Troy's arm.

"Well yeah Gabriella, it's ice!" Troy said as he rolled his eyes. He heard Gabriella mumble something incoherent, causing him to chuckle.

Once he had a good grip of her hand, he went further out onto the ice. He pulled her around for a few minutes, helping her to get the hang of it.

"Let go!" Gabriella exclaimed, laughing.

"Are you sure?" Troy asked.

"Yeah!" she confirmed.

Troy slowly let go of her hand, and watched her skate around. He was amazed at how fast she got the hang of it. He watched as she moved gracefully along the ice, forgetting all her problems. She looked beautiful.

He began to chase her around on the ice, causing her to giggle wildly.

He finally caught up the her, and grabbed onto her waist. He picked her up and spun her around on the ice. After 3 spins he lost his balance and fell, bringing Gabriella down with him, landing on top of her.

Brown met blue as they looked into each others eyes. And suddenly Troy leaned down and kissed her. Then for the first time that year, it snowed in Albuquerque.

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! My computer was broken!**


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